Join science journalist Brad van Paridon as he explores all manner of weird science topics with friends from all walks of life and through discussions with scientists and science journalists.
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In this episode my guest and I discuss the beautiful alchemy that is metabolism and how it can be used to accelerate sustainable bioproduction. Joining me is Jan Krüsemann, a postdoctoral researcher at the Institute for Biochemistry in Berlin and an all around interesting and lovely person. We chat about metabolism being not merely a biological process but also a sophisticated mechanism through…
'll be honest with you — when I first stumbled across Rachel Armstrong's papers, I genuinely thought I had the wrong person. The work was filed under architecture, but it was talking about chemistry, microbes, the origins of life, and the philosophy of matter. Rachel Armstrong is a professor at KU Leuven's Faculty of Architecture, but she trained as a medical doctor at Oxford and Cambridge, spent…
When you hear the word "science," what do you feel? Bored? Intimidated? In awe? Suspicious? Turns out, that gut reaction matters more than you think — and it might be the key to understanding why science communication so often fails, and why grifters and pseudoscientists are so successful. In this episode I sat down with Daniel Silva Luna, a science communication researcher from Colombia, now…
Biology can be beautiful and disgusting all at once. This is why I loved studying biology and parasites, and why I am captivated by the story of screwworm. Screwworm is a nasty parasite that is making a come back in North America and in this episode we'll dive into the story of screwworm and hear from Dr. Phillip Kaufman, Head of the Department of Entomology at Texas A&M. He breaks down how…
In this episode, I'm joined science-communication researcher Miguel Vissers for a funny, honest, and wildly insightful look at how science actually reaches the public —and why it so often goes wrong. Check out the links below to see Miguel's work and check back for updates as one of the pieces of research we discuss will be available soon. We start with the question, why science needs its own…
Science isn’t just happening in labs in the U.S. or Europe — it’s a human story unfolding everywhere. In this episode, Brad talks with Dr. Patience Kiyuka, a Kenyan scientist and National Geographic Explorer, about what it really means to do science for and with the communities it serves. From fighting malaria to battling misinformation, Dr. Kiyuka shares how African scientists are changing global…
Humor feels like a universal language—but can it really help people understand science? In this episode researchers Hauke Riesch and Bruno Pinto discuss the surprising limits of using jokes to teach science and what happens when scientists try to get laughs while explaining complex ideas. They discuss the psychology of humor, the risks of being “too funny,” and what it means for trust, emotion,…
The discussion today centers on the pressing issue of science communication and the alarming erosion of public trust in scientific endeavors. Our guest, Alex Kirkpatrick, a distinguished scholar in science communication from Washington State University and Cornell Engineering, offers a novel perspective by examining the dynamics between scientists and the public, particularly through the lens of…
Is science political? Yes, and that's not an inherently a bad thing. In this episode I try to unpack my thinking on why science is political and more specifically where and why political influences enter the picture. From here I explore how an understanding of these influences can improve scientific research and also ruminate on how this affects science communication aimed at two important…
In this episode, we dive into the weird world of nanomaterials and their game-changing role in sustainable technology and space exploration. My guest is Connor Boland , a researcher a Dublin City University. He breaks down how everyday substances like gypsum or pencil lead are transformed into high-tech nanostructures with applications for electronics, engineering, or space travel. He also…
